Auteur Theory, Mar. 3, 2016
For this week's wiki post, please write one sentence that defines what film scholars mean by the textual author, followed by one sentence that explains a reason why film scholars use the notion of the textual author as opposed to the biographical author. Then, I want you to briefly provide an example of the deep structure of "Howard Hawks" as the director of His Girl Friday, Rio Bravo, and Gentleman Prefer Blondes. ------------------------------ Salvatore Basilone forgot to leave my name on first post The textual author, as Lehman and Luhr explain, is something critics "construct" by analyzing a body of films as opposed to the biographical detail of the director; this method assumes, on the one hand, that a films "meaning" can be derived from critical analysis of the work in and of itself (as opposed to simply the intentions of the director) and on the other hand that psychological theory can help us tie together a body of films based on things the director might have put in "unconsciously." The reason critics study the textual as opposed to the biographical author is that they essentially are telling you different things: because of the collaborative nature of the filmmaking process, biographical details tell you about the workings of a film shoot, of the studio system of the history of filmmaking at a particular time and place, while looking at the "textual" author is about engaging specifically and exclusively with the work of art produced. If we look at the three Howard Hawks films, we can pull out a running motif apparent in his central female characters: the characters of Feathers, Hildy, Lorelei and Dorothy all, in their own way represent strong, driven and one could say even "street smart" women. It is only Hildy, the earliest of these four characters, who eventually "succumbs" to the pursuit of her male love interest; Feathers, Lorelei and Dorothy all seem to be pursuers in their own right. ------------------- Abby Keith By “textual author”, film scholars mean the author associated with the overall body of work and the recurring themes present in them, as well as the shifts that happened over the span of the works and the unconscious thought present in them. This is different than the biographical author, who is just the person and the way they present themself. An example of the deep structure of “Howard Hawks” is how gender dynamics often come into play in his films. Francisco Kim The idea of a textual author is that the meanings and intentions found in a director’s (or other creator) works are not necessarily deliberate nor made consciously, and are created through analysis. This method is preferred as it focuses on the works themselves, and not on the lives of their creators. Howard Hawks plays with two opposing genres; comedy and action, pushing both to their extremes in a ‘’systematic series of oppositions” which when looked at as a whole, expresses new meaning and intent. ------------------------------ Yao Chen Film scholars define textual author as the assumption that meaning in a filmmaker's work is not only found in the conscious creation of the filmmaker but also emerges after close analysis of the work created. Film scholar prefer the use of textual author rather than the biographical author so that the work itself can be analyzed rather than analyzing the life of the authors. An example of the deep structure of Howard Hawks is the tension between genders. ------------------------------ ------------------------------ Tua Hytönen What film scholars mean by the textual author is that the meaning behind the work of a director might not be intentional, as critical analysis rather emerges meaning. The textual author can be a preferred term of the biographical author, as this way the meaning of a film isn’t specifically tied to the director. Howard Hawks has directed films from Westerns to comedies, and everything in between, and uses comedy to its extent as well as action in his opposing films. ------------------------------ Katy Czajkowski The textual author refers to analyzing reoccurring elements that spread across the filmic portfolio of a director. This derivation is more of a subconscious decision from the director and is established based on the interpretation of the actual work. In contrast, the biographical focuses on defining characteristics of the human that directed the film and how their personal biopsychosocial framework is the foundation for certain filmic interpretations. The “Howard Hawks” oeuvre contains an alternate depiction of gender in his films; often a strong-willed, intellectual woman and men that are not necessarily submissive by calm and composed in their masculinity, rather than aggressive and over-flowing with testosterone. ------------------------------ Kelc Noble The meaning of textual authors according to film scholars is to draw your attention to the work that is being produced by the author rather than focusing your attention on the author as an individuals. Film scholars use the notion of a textual author rather than biographical author because a biographical author is based on the filmmakers lives while textual authors are based on evaluating and focusing on the film. An example of a deep structure of Howard Hawks would be the role of the men and woman in the movies and how the were presented differently. ------------------------------ Ivy Li "Textual author” is a result or outcome of auteur criticism according to Peter Wollen. Whom is understood from he’s stylistic, beliefs, values, goals and etc. emerged from various (films) bodies of works of him, sometimes even without his conscious awareness, rather than the flesh and blood author him/her self. This is differ from the definition of biographical author for it is not focus on analyzing the relationship between the author’s life experiences and his productions, rather than how do they blend their comprehensions of life with the cinematic culture. According to “The Auteur Theory”, Howard Hawks' films have "exhibit the same thematic preoccupations, the same recurring motifs and incidents, the same visual style and tempo”. For example, he performs his ideology of professionalism, exclusive, self-sufficient, all-male group of heroes. Therefore, “Howard Hawks” is not only a textural author, but also a cultural conduit. ------------------------------ Melissa Birch The textual author is the author that is created by the analysis of the works and the author's conscious and unconscious intentions and not the study of the author themselves. The biographical author is the author that is perceived based on the personality of the author and aspects of their personal life and history, and the textual author is used instead because the biographical author does not always account for the author's creative intentions and limits them in their creativity and expression. The deep structure of Howard Hawks is explored through his presence as a textual author, and in analyzing both his adventures and his comedies together, reveals a commentary on masculinity and gender relations/conflicts. ------------------------------ Alina Seropian The meaning of textual author refers to a director being the creator of the style and theme for the film. Whereas, biographical author refers to a creator who uses personal data to create something rather than provoke something new, so scholars use textual author instead to avoid critiquing personal life. Howard Hawks plays with speed of occurring events and plays with stereotypes of gender roles. ------------------------------ Lara Gurleyen When film scholars talk about the textual author they are talking about the meaning behind the work of the author and the actual work of the author instead of the author itself, because to them, the textual author and the flesh and bones author are two different people. The reason why they don’t use the biographical author is because with the biographical author, they focus solely on the flesh and bones author. An example of deep structure with Howard Hawks is the use of gender roles/relations in his films. --------------------------- Jordan Yang Textual author, according to film scholars, means that attention is placed onto the body work of film rather than the director of the film. They use the notion of textual author as opposed to biographical author because biographical author often associates the film with the director. One example of deep structure in Howard’s films is the way men and women are presented differently and the gender roles. ------------------------- Hunter Scharfe Textual author is defined by film scholars as how ideas and intentions in a film maker's work are not all intentional; rather, some of the films concepts are produced through analysis. The biographical author, on the other hand is often fully associated with the author themselves and his life. Textual author is often preferred over biographical author because it focuses directly on the work it self, rather than the works author. An example of deep structure in Howard Hawk's films is his use of gender norms and stereotypes throughout all of his films. He has produced films of many different genres and these genre norms are still evident. --------------------------- Jessica Rapson The academic definition of textual author refers to the relationship that the creator has with their overall body of work, not the creator as an individual. Film scholars use the notion of the textual author as opposed to the biographical author because they define the textual author as being specifically related to the work of art being produced, whereas the biographical author is defined as the means by which the art is created (i.e. being responsible the technical aspects of the filmmaking process). A recurring theme in Howard Hawkes' films is that of the "strong" female character: a character that appears to independently pursue her male love interest. In Rio Bravo, His Girl Friday, and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, the characters Feathers, Hidly, and Lorelei represent what must be Hawkes' interpretation of independent women. --------------------------- Crystal Yi By 'Textual Author', film scholars means the author created in and through the text. It is not necessarily made consciously or unintentionally. We can also distinguish them by stylistic, narrative, and thematic continuities. One example of the structure of Howard Hawks as director of His Girl Friday, Rio Bravo, and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is Classical style.